Cider Australia has opened entries to the 2021 Australian Cider Awards!

President of Cider Australia and chair of the Awards organising team, Warwick Billings, said the tenth annual show will go ahead for the first time in more than two years with the judging to be held in Melbourne in January.

Record numbers of entries are anticipated in Australia’s largest ‘blind’ cider tasting which sets the benchmark for cider shows across Australia.

“This year’s Schedule has 29 classes including a new Herbs/Spices class and provision for low and no-alcohol products to enter for the first time, keeping the Awards contemporary and in line with the market”, said Warwick.

“The team has been ready and preparing for the Awards despite Covid-19, and the window of opportunity is now here.

“We are glad we hung in there and the show is finally going to happen as it will bring a lot of festive spirit to the Australian cider community”, Warwick said.

Registrations open today via myaca.rasv.com.au and close 3 December.  

 

FULL DETAILS ON AWARD CLASSES AND RULES CAN BE FOUND HERE.

 

2021 Australian Cider Awards – Key dates

Entries Open	Tue 9 Nov 2021
Entries Close	Fri 3 Dec 2021
Deliver Entries	Mon 6 – Fri 24 Dec 2021
Judging (closed to the public)	Tue 18 & Wed 19 Jan 2022
Awards Presentation	To be advised

 

cideraustralia.org.au

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MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For more details please contact Cider Australia executive officer Jane Anderson on
0434 559 759 or office@cideraustralia.org.au or visit www.cideraustralia.org.au.

About Cider Australia 

Cider Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organisation funded by cider businesses and sponsors, established in 2012. It aims to build a sustainable cider category by undertaking activities that improve the quality of ciders produced and marketed in Australia. The organisation represents the interests of the cider industry to policy makers, calling for regulations and policies that support a diverse and evolving cider industry, and runs the national cider conference AusCider and the Australian Cider Awards.

About the Awards

The 10th annual Australian Cider Awards will be held in late 2021/early 2022 following its postponement in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic. The Awards is the largest cider competition in Australia and is leading the standardisation and improvement of cider judging across Australia. It promotes and rewards excellence in cider production and bring together cider makers, industry suppliers, communicators, retailers, sommeliers and consumers. In 2019 the Awards received a record 276 entries from 84 Australian and international producers.

Entries are now open to the 2021 Australia’s Best Cider Selection of the Year Awards.

Cider Australia established this competition to reward venues and retailers that have great cider selections. Entries are invited in three categories:

• Australia’s Best Cider Selection – Pub/Restaurant
• Australia’s Best Cider Selection – Liquor Retailer
• Australia’s Best Cidery/Cellar Door

Full competition details including the judging criteria, Terms & Conditions and entry form link can be found here.

Entries will be open until 29 October with the winners announced in mid-November. Winners receive a trophy, marketing collateral and social media opportunities.

Who is eligible to enter?
Any licensed venue or liquor retailer is eligible to enter. By liquor retailer, we mean an individual bricks and mortar liquor store (not a chain of stores) or an online retailer.

What information is needed to enter?
Entrants need to list the ciders available at the venue/store and provide supporting information to show how the judging criteria are met. This could be a copy of the menu or drinks list, images of the venue, shelf displays or other descriptive information. Answers can be typed directly into the entry form and any documents, images and video uploaded.

The video is intended to give the judges a feel for the customer experience and provide an alternative means to explain the cider offering. To be fair to all entrants, video should be taken on a mobile device – professional videos will not be accepted. The maximum length of video is 45 seconds for a Pub/Restaurant, 30 seconds for a Liquor Retailer and 2 minutes for a Cidery/Cellar Door.

What are the judging criteria?
Judges will assess cider selections against the following four judging criteria:

• quality
  • ciders of known provenance (i.e. Australian ‘craft’ cider made from Australian grown apples, or French cider made from French apples)
  • ciders that represent a particular cider style well
• breadth of styles
  • balance of cider styles, apple varieties and regions (if suitable, for example, a venue specialising in regional produce would be expected to feature local ciders)
• suitability
  • to the type of venue and cuisine
• education
  • identifying provenance and/or style
  • providing product information, tasting notes and food matching suggestions
  • promotional activities

Questions?
If you have any questions please get in touch at awards@cideraustralia.org.au.

Australian Cider Day on Saturday 13^th March is the perfect opportunity to seek out and celebrate Australian craft ciders.

Industry body Cider Australia established this annual event to highlight product origin and help consumers learn more about authentic Australian cider.

Cider Australia President Warwick Billings said the events of the past year have focused the minds of consumers on authenticity and products made by locals with ingredients they understand and trust.

“Cider made with 100% Australian grown fruit continues to outperform the rest of the category”, said Warwick.

“Cider Australia launched its 100% Australian Grown trust mark to help consumers identify and buy local products, and it is now displayed on hundreds of ciders across Australia helping them to buy local”, Warwick said.

“With the apple harvest upon us and cider makers beginning to press and ferment thousands of bins of fruit across Australia, Australian Cider Day is the perfect opportunity to salute 100% Australian craft cider”.

Cider producers will mark this day by organising cider events, tastings and other fun festivities with events published on Cider Australia’s website as they are announced.

Everyone is encouraged to share news and photos about Australian Cider Day events with the hashtag #drinkaustraliancider to ensure the country’s cider cheer is spread far and wide.

For more details visit www.cideraustralia.org.au/australianciderday

#drinkaustraliancider

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MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For more details please contact Cider Australia executive officer Jane Anderson on
0434 559 759 or office@cideraustralia.org.au or visit www.cideraustralia.org.au.

About Cider Australia 

Cider Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organisation funded by cider businesses and sponsors, established in 2012. It aims to build a sustainable cider category by undertaking activities that improve the quality of ciders produced and marketed in Australia. The organisation represents the interests of the cider industry to policy makers, calling for regulations and policies that support a diverse and evolving cider industry, and runs the national cider conference AusCider and the Australian Cider Awards.